The unforgivable Truth
by Callisto Crescent
Summary: this may not be a harry potter fan fic, but it is really close to one. magically enough, anyways....


It was early, that was all she could tell

It was early, that was all she could tell. She looked at the clock, it read 2:27. Her name was Shannon, and she didn't know what it was that woke her because she was a very hard sleeper. Shannon looked around her bed room, nothing unusual, but something was missing. She couldn't tell until she looked around again. Shannon didn't know why she got so worried over a single worthless object. If it was a thief (of course she knew it wasn't) then why would they only take a single paper daisy?

Horrible thoughts came back to her head. Could she do it? She had to tell someone about the disappearing and reappearing paper daisy. But she wouldn't tell her stepfather, Jim, that was for sure. She didn't know what her mother, Marie, saw in him but it must have been good, because her mother had married him a year ago. Although she was 11 at the moment she would be 12 in nine days. Her thoughts of turning twelve escaped her and returned to the situation in her room and the daisy. Maybe it was Jim trying to play a trick on her, or maybe was it something to do with her mother?

Shannon began thinking of all of the possibilities that there could be, but none of them seemed to fit with the situation. She decided it must be her imagination, besides if Mom was in trouble she would sense it, plus she saw something in Jim. If I was Mom, thought Shannon, I never would have gone to that stupid party! But if she brought up the question her mom would answer "Now Shannon, we must try to make the best out of everything." And Shannon would stomp up to her room on the second floor.

Shannon knew the daisy meant something, something that happened here a long time ago. She knew she would never help her stepfather for anything, ever. She looked around the room again, but this time something glinted in the moonlight right beside her window, she quickly turned her head back toward her window. Just as she turned she saw her turn and walk straight through the wall of her room. It was the ghost girl! Shannon tiptoed to her window just to see the ghost girl vanish from her sight. She stared at the spot where her hair had been just a few seconds ago. She stared even more until she almost turned away but stopped just to see her vanish from the lawn.

Shannon was getting freaked out, if she saw the girl again she would be officially freaked out. Shannon had all ready seen the ghost girl more than ten times. They had come to live in Jim's old childhood home and Marie said she couldn't blame him to come back to live in a place where he had grown up in, but he turned to look at her as though he had seen a ghost, but of course that had been on the first floor, not the second floor where their rooms were. This "house" as you might call it, was actually a mansion and it was also very creaky and freaky. On the day they had settled in Shannon was washing dishes she heard Jim come up behind and whisper in her ear "Be careful Shannon, watch your back." She lay down to go back to sleep, but it was hard to come. When she woke again it was at least four o'clock, she didn't have time to look because Jim (or what looked kind of like him) was staring back at her with a ghostly appearance. She looked toward the door and back at the rocking chair where she thought she saw Jim but all that was left of the ghostly figure was the usual daisy.

Shannon looked around the room. Her door was open, so she could see the bathroom door and could also tell if the light was on. The light had just suddenly turned on. It was the strangest thing that Shannon had ever seen! But then she remembered her mother or Jim could have been in there, again. She went in to the hallway, her bare feet felt cold against the wood of the floor. Shannon tried to ignore the tingling feeling that had just shot up throughout her body. She knew that the feeling only came at times when she suspected that something was wrong, and something was definitely wrong, thought Shannon. She was looking toward the kitchen when she knew she was looking at the ghost girl again. The girl led Shannon down to the basement, and stopped to see if anyone was watching, and entered. Shannon could see the eerie figure as if she were holding a flashlight on her. Shannon stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't like to admit it, but she was terrified of the basement, in fact, she was terrified of the entire estate, especially since she started seeing the ghosts. Just then, out of nowhere, someone whispered hoarsely in her ear "Be careful, beware!" She turned to find she was looking straight in to Jim's cold hard eyes, she felt a sudden surge of hatred toward him at the moment. "Why!" she whispered hoarsely. "Why didn't you tell either of us! About this house and," she gestured around her, "and the ghosts that I've been seeing around this house, I could have trusted you!"

Shannon felt pretty good, but not good enough to look up at him at all. When she finally looked up at him, he was looking at her like she was crazy. When he bent down he started to talk about something "important." Shannon didn't mind the serious look on his face. She was deeply involved in her own thoughts, mostly of the previous moments of the morning and the girl. While she was buried in her thoughts, she figured out that the girls name was Daisy, but she would never use her name in front of her parents.

As her thoughts came back to reality she heard Jim say," You need to be careful, Shannon, this house can be very dangerous sometimes. Just go back to bed and try to forget about this little talk we had, ok?" Jim took the advantage to get out of there before the questions started to come in. Shannon was amazed that he knew anything about the ghosts or maybe Jim had something to do with something that she had to figure out on her own. If that was so then Jim definitely had something to do with it.

At breakfast, Shannon had decided to keep to herself what had happened that morning and the ghosts, but Jim had different ideas in store for her. He began by saying, "I found Shannon sleep walking down by the basement, and lucky for her I found her and woke her up on my way down to get a drink of water. That basement is dangerous, and as I woke her up she started talking about ghosts!" Shannon looked up knowing that this conversation would be long and harsh. "Shannon Marie Elizabeth Marshal! I thought I told you to stop that nonsense about ghosts, and you said that you would!" Just as her mother had stopped, Shannon jumped up and started screaming as loud as her mother had "It's not my fault that I can see her, and you can't! She always disappears when someone else comes near me!" "My last name isn't Marshal either," she muttered under her breath. Jim looked very surprised at the mention of the ghosts.

Shannon didn't want to look at her mother or Jim, the liar, either so she went straight to her room as she entered she saw the girl, again. It was Daisy! She disappeared after Shannon got a visual picture of what she looked like, maybe she'd draw a picture of her later. Where she had stood there on the floor was the paper daisy with an arrow on it, she didn't know what it meant, but she had to find out, quick, before Jim found out. Shannon sat on her bed to try and figure out what it meant, and then it hit her like a ton of bricks! She had to go to the attic, but why?

That night Shannon snuck out of her room after everyone had fallen asleep. As she went up the stairs she stepped on the creaky stair, she had meant to step over it. The attic didn't have much in it, mostly just boxes that they hadn't put away yet. Shannon went to the middle of the room and sat down. Just then a shadow appeared right on the wall in front of her, A light had suddenly turned on and spread her own and some other shadow on the wall. Shannon looked up at Daisy; she had the paper daisy in her hand. Shannon looked at her again as if to question the fact as to why they where in the attic. Daisy only answered with a sorry look and pointed at her self. Daisy was young and looked as if she had died for a sorrowful thing. As she was looking at her figure she heard the creaky floor board and hid behind a few boxes. Shannon heard Jim's voice and let escape a tiny gasp, but kept it muffled. She heard him say, "Alright Daisy, stop scaring the kid." Jim sounded as if they were old friends and then there was a silence as if listening to Daisy. Jim sounded again, this time he sounded worried, "Daisy, if Shannon finds out about what I did to you then I will go to jail, do you want that? No, plus I thought you left until I saw you in the living room on the day we moved back." There was a short pause, then, "Yes! I married Shannon's mom." He sounded agitated, after a small silence Jim spoke again, "That was a long time ago, we were nineteen!" There was a silence longer this time, then, "I thought you wouldn't tell anybody that I did this to you, plus it was for the better." There was a short silence and Jim answered "You can't let her find out about our old feelings for each other, besides I am a ghost along with you and Shannon already suspects us, no more!" It was a direct order.

Shannon heard the creaky stair again, but didn't move, she needed time for the information to sink in. She sat there for 2 or 3 minutes. When she was done she went back to her room to see if she could catch some sleep. She knew that sleep would not come easily tonight. She sat awake and thought about the information that she had just received.

Shannon couldn't take it anymore; she had to figure out what was going on with her step dad and the ghost girl.

Then it came to her, Jim was in love with the ghost girl! Shannon didn't like the idea of her mother with Jim anymore. She had to get them apart! Besides Jim was a ghost!

As she combed through her silver- ash blond hair, she thought of how much she and Daisy looked alike. When she went down to eat breakfast, nobody was there! It was as if they had up and vanished! Shannon looked at the table at the note on the table in front of her. She read it so much she could have memorized it. She looked at it again, why would Jim leave a note and not her mom? She could only imagine the worst, that Jim was going to, or already did, murder her mother! She could just kill him, she really could! If only she could see her mom one more time. Suddenly she heard the screen door slam.

Her mother walked in with the scariest look on her face. When Shannon asked her what was going on she said, "Pack up, we're leaving." Shannon looked at her mother, surprised. Then she finally understood, Jim was telling her mother what to do, or he was possibly threatening her. Shannon looked at her mom and asked "Where is Jim?" her mother answered her with her eyes, pointing to the car in the driveway then made a phone gesture with her hand. Shannon was surprised that she was catching on to what her mother was saying to her so fast, then she had it, Jim was calling the police on them as though they had broken the law in some way!

Shannon was so annoyed! By accident she let out a cry of surprise as something cold shot through her body. She spun around and found she was staring at an extremely sharp pointed at her head held by Jim! She heard a shrill voice in her ear that sounded like death saying "Time to join us, little Shannon! They're waiting on the other side for you!" Shannon looked around for help but found that her mother was helpless. She looked as if she couldn't see her only child. She screamed out for her mother, but hearing nothing come out of her throat she turned toward the menacing figure in front of her that was to be the cause of her death so soon. Suddenly she found herself wishing that that they had never come here in the first place.

Shannon had decided that she would face her death face-to-face, since there was no escape from it anyway. As she waited for the icy tip of the knife to plunge into her heart she heard for the first time ever Daisy speak, though it was not a soothing tone. She was yelling at Jim and it sounded like this. "Jim! How could you!" Jim answered by saying in a grotesque little laugh and said "She knows too much. Anyway she was about to report me!" he finished at lamely. Then it was Daisy's turn as she answered with "Well, you sure would deserve it, Jim! Even if we were engaged at the time that you decided to end my life then you thought twice about it once it was over!" Shannon tore herself away from the ghost of Jim as he was about to answer Daisy.

Shannon had tried to comfort her mother but she just wouldn't be comforted. She was still concerned about Shannon and about what had happened at the Marshal Mansion. They were back in England, and where they belonged. She just couldn't believe that they were going home when her mother told her that they were leaving after all! It was a miracle, a dream come true! They were going home! Shannon just couldn't wait to tell her friend Ginny all about her amazing adventure, yet she wished all along that Ginny could have been at her side fighting the ghosts like all the bad guys in the pretend adventures that they had in their back yards all the time. Then maybe they could play her adventure and she could relive the terror that had happened on that frightful night. No, she thought better of it and thought it better to leave the past behind her. The past is the past, she thought. And that was that. She went outside to look for Ginny, but she wasn't anywhere. "Who's there?" Shannon thought she saw the glint of beautiful golden, blond hair. But instead of it being by the window in a creepy ghost house, it was behind a bush in front of Ginny's house. Shannon was too scared to think of what to do. She immediately thought of Ginny but then remembered that she was not there.

Shannon crept around the bush just to find who she'd thought she'd never have to see again, Daisy. Shannon didn't know why she didn't seem too surprised to see the ghost girl staring straight at her. It possibly was because she had left the mansion being able to talk to ghosts and spirits and fairies and all other fairy tale creatures that she never knew existed, they had all lived in the old mansion. Shannon knew that she would never be the same again.

After she found out about the old mansion and all the secrets of the old house and why she could suddenly understood every word they said (because she had come so close to death herself and knew what it felt like to suffer from death). Daisy had told her the entire story about what had happened. "After you came along, we knew that you were the one person to help us. But then we realized that you couldn't understand us…" then Shannon remembered cutting in and saying, "Then how could I hear and understand what Jim said?" "Please do _**not**_say that name! I never want to hear that name again!" cried Daisy.

"Well, anyway, you could understand what_ he _said because _he _chose to take on a human form. Not a ghost one._ He_ thought_ he_ was superior to the ghost race, which _he's _not."

When Shannon heard this, she was shocked, at first, and then again, she found she wasn't at all surprised. She had always found it hard to trust _him_. Shannon could barely think_ his_ name without feeling a shudder run down her spine.

Shannon looked back at Daisy. She was staring intently at her, a sympathetic look on her face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what? I'm not looking at you in any special way. Oh all right. Ginny is gone."

"Really! I hadn't noticed! I was only out here looking for Ginny because I was bored and thought she was around here somewhere! Like, I don't know, under a rock! Or behind that tree over there!"

Shannon's temper, always near the top these days, felt like she was going to explode! She was biting Daisy's head off for no reason.

"I really sorry that you're mad! But that gives you no reason to jump down my throat. Do you want to find Ginny or not?" Daisy was so persuasive in her beautiful British accent.

"Of course, of course I want to find Ginny! She's my best friend!"

"Do you really believe that you and Ginny are just friends? The fact that you and she are identical means nothing to you? Did you really believe the things the adults told you?"

"What are you talking about? We always pretended that we sisters because we looked alike. But that was just play. I am the only child, let alone daughter, of my mother!"

"You have much to learn, and all of it, I can teach you. How much I can teach you can only be determined by you. Ginny is only a part of this as a trap to lure you to him. You are the only one who means anything to him. That's why he married your mom. Don't you see? I don't know what he wants with you but I am sure it can't be good."

"I'll let you sleep on it. Don't know what it'll do for you, but if you change your mind, let me know."

As Shannon lay in bed that night she thought of what Daisy had told her. What if she's right, she thought to herself. Should I believe everything that mum has told me? Ginny and I did always have an odd habit of finishing each others sentences, speaking aloud each others thoughts and mimicking each other. Every thing about them was identical. "Everything except…our hair! That's how they told us apart! Her's is red and mine is ash/silver! I don't know how I didn't see it before! It's the only difference between us! But what does he want with me? Why me and not Ginny? If we are identical, then why does he need me? Why-"

"Because you have the knowledge."

"Who said that? Show yourself! I'm warning you! What do you mean 'I have the knowledge?"

"My name is Myrna. I would rather not show myself. What are you warning me about? And what I mean is exactly what I said. You have the knowledge. You may not know it, but that is what he wants you for. You have the knowledge and you wouldn't give it up and he thinks that now you are a child you will hand it over to him willingly. Though we all know that you wouldn't do that not now, not ever. Oh… I see. They haven't given you back your memory. Oh I wouldn't worry about that. You'll get it back soon enough. They will have to give it to you sooner or later. How do they think that you will be able to defeat him without your memory?"

Shannon looked at her. "Did you say your name was Myrna? I seem to remember that name."

"Well," said a high pitched girl voice. "Then you must remember me. The name is Envy. Myrna, who sent you? We all know you can't stand her! Shannon, is it? Nice cover name, I must compliment you on your excellent choice. Absolutely nothing like your original name. No one would be able to tell it was you unless they looked at you, Ayra.

"Yes, I think I remember you, Envy. You and your brothers and sisters. Also know as The Seven Deadly Sins. Am I correct?

"Well, I believe our little princess is getting her memory back."

"No. I just remember Daisy mentioning you and the others. Uhm. Daisy told me should I ever meet you that I should give you this note. Excuse me, but did you just call me 'princess'?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. Now, may I have the note that is meant to be given to me?"

"Certainly. One moment please." As Shannon got up from the bed and walked toward her small safe that looked like a jewelry box, a girl figure stepped in front of her. Her features were quite round and pretty. Her hair was blond with brown streaks in it. Her eyes, though beautiful were amazingly yet mysteriously an odd violet color.

"I do believe my image should jog something in your memory."

"Envy, do you have to sneak up on the poor girl? Someone might think you were trying to kill her. Ayra, don't touch her. She will find out who you envy most and could use it against you in the not so far off future."

Ayra was still getting used to her new name. Ayra. She liked it. Much better than Shannon. She would have to remember that to her mother and everyone non-magical, she was just Shannon. She would also have to remember that to everyone magical that she was now Ayra.

"Thank you for that interesting piece of _my personal life_, Myrna. I would rather not have everyone know my power. Thank you very much. Besides, you keep going on like that, people will think you like her."

"I believe in giving people a second chance, not that everyone aces it. She had to start over, why don't we?"

"Uhm, you know I'm right here don't you? Here you go, Envy. Daisy told me to give it to you. Don't worry. I didn't read it."

Suddenly another girl figure stepped from the shadows. She had brown hair that almost reached her knees. Her eyes were the most amazing blue. Her features were the most beautiful she had ever seen.

"Don't look so surprised. I didn't think that I'd have this much affect."

"You're beautiful. I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you before. Never, not even when I saw the fairies."

"No I'm not. You are. You are meant to be. Soon you will see. Not even your twin can be as beautiful as you will or already are becoming. You are The One. You will see soon."

"Oh… Somebody is envious! Yes Ayra. You will understand. You will be the most beautiful fairy that ever existed and will exist. Even I am envious. And that is saying something. Seeing as I am Envy."

Myrna looked at Envy. Then back at Ayra. She knew that her beautiful hair would turn more silver-ash colored. She would be more beautiful when they next met. She knew she could not help her. This would have to be her war. Ayra could get no help from them. She had to save her sister, her kind. But she knew that she could get her information and help her without anyone ever knowing.

Envy looked at Myrna. She was thinking hard about something. She knew exactly what she was thinking. She was wondering how she could help the little fairy princess. "You can't help her, no more than I can help her." She whispered under her breath.

"Did you just call me a fairy? How am I a fairy? They are so majestic and graceful. I couldn't compare. Not in the slightest. Are you two fairies? Is that how you found me? But… how?" Ayra whispered the last word.

Envy laughed. "How? How? Yes, I called you a fairy. You're a fairy because that is the truth of your birth. I guess you could call us fairies. Yes, that is how we found you. But we were also notified of your location. How… the question that is used too much. As is…why."

"You can't just become a fairy. It is impossible. Unless, of course, you ask a fairy to transform you. But that is only if your soul is worthy. A fairy has many more powers than The Others. But… you know how it is."

"Actually, I don't. But then again, I haven't gotten my memory back, as you say I should."

"Don't worry. You'll get it back soon enough," answered Myrna.

Envy then commented in her abnormally high pitched voice, "That's right. Nothing to worry about except those nasty memories that you tried so hard to get rid of. You could just say that you don't want those memories back. Nothing could hurt from that, could it?"

Ayra looked at Envy suspiciously, "No. I couldn't do that. Then I may never know what they were and what I wanted to get rid of them for. Besides they are my memories."

"Now, Envy. Stop that. Someone would think you were trying to get her to get rid of her memories. What are you keeping from us, Envy?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all!" Envy quickly replied, all too quickly. There was a slight breeze and Envy was gone.

"Don't mind her. She likes showing off her magic. She would believe she were the most powerful Other in the world if you told her.

"She was pretty nice. Other than the fact that she-"

"That she hates you and would probably kill you given the proper circumstances. In other words, she hates you."

"Oh…" Ayra sighed. She had thought that she might have had a fighting chance. Well. Maybe it wasn't meant to be.

There was a sudden gust of wind that suddenly enveloped Ayra. "Myrna! Help me! I don't know what is happening to me!" There was a grin making its way across Myrna's lips.

"Of course you don't! And you never will if I have anything to do with it! You will be gone!" The smile played across her lips. She pulled out a small round pendant that looked somewhat like a clock. She opened it and said, "Ptolemy." Now is my chance, she thought. I can send her somewhere where she will be safe and learn all that is meant to be learned. She is a fairy, she thought, she will become strong and wise. All will be as it is meant to be. It is just as it is prophesized.

There was a sudden gust of wind and Ayra was gone.

"That was a little too strong a gust of wind. Maybe," Myrna sighed.

Ayra examined her surroundings. They were a bit… ancient Egyptian… was how she would describe it. As she continued to examine the intricately carved tiles and beautiful reliefs in the walls of the temple… as she came to know it as… a tall man stepped out of the shadows lining the extremely long wall.

"Now, whatever have we here? You are quite a pretty one. I must say you have got to be the prettiest elf that Myrna has ever sent to me to teach."

"Ptolemy? I figured that was who you were. I thought that I was only a fairy?"

"Did I not just say fairy? It has been quite a long time since I have had anyone smart enough to correct me. No. You are not just a fairy! They must have failed to mention that you have elf in you as well."

"Well, Don't get up in my face screaming at me as if it was my fault that they made a mistake! It obviously wasn't my fault! And you can tell Myrna that I want nothing to do with her for what she just did to me!"

"My dear, stop that obnoxious noise and calm yourself. You have much to learn if you are The One." Ptolemy was quite annoyed by this point. He knew that she was The One, but it was going to be a difficult job teaching her the arts, if she never kept quiet long enough to listen to what her superiors had to say.

"Alright. But I will not speak to her again if she is going to treat me in such a manner as an animal! That is all that I have to say for the time being."

"I quite understand, my dear. Yours and Myrna's past together has been quite… interesting. You do not remember at all, do you? How curios."

"What do you mean curios? I understand it must have been quite odd, but everyone has been saying that it has to be much worse."

Ptolemy looked down at Ayra. She was very pretty. He could not believe that she looked was so young. She was older than even himself!

_Ptolemy, my child, she must not know of her past yet, she has yet to learn and believe. She will learn soon enough, though not from your hand. I shall tell my daughter when the time of question has come. _The voice was firm, yet gentle inside his head.

His thoughts answered the voice. "_Yes, mother. How is it that you decided to send her to me, Ara? Why me, Why now?"_

The voice echoed inside his head, "_My dear heart, there is a time for questions and for answers, but you must wait for that time to come for it is not now." _

_"Yes mother," _Ptolemy answered obediently

"Now, Ayra, Myrna has sent you here for a reason. She did not mean to harm you or to anger you. She wants you to do everything as you were meant to and not do anything rash. Not that you are rash, my dear," Ptolemy looked flustered as finished.

"You are quick to realize your mistakes and catch yourself, 'my dear' " Ayra laughed out loud with a laugh that echoed and sounded like little bells jingling together to Ptolemy.

Smiling, Ptolemy motioned to Ayra to follow him, "Come, you have much to learn. And you have not even been here 24 hours! We must begin if you wish to get ahead." Ayra could tell that Ptolemy was trying to make conversation. He opened his mouth again and Ayra almost laughed out loud as he began to speak again. "You know, you are my second student here. My other student is my scribe, Alten. He is a very good student. And when I say that, I mean that he is a good scribe."

For once Ayra paid attention to Ptolemy, hoping that he would say more about his other student. Ayra was grateful that she was not the only other person in this place.

"Where does your scribe work at? When shall I meet him? I will meet him, wont I?" Ayra looked a little too hopeful to Ptolemy.

He looked at the little girl, who was far from innocent, though she had no idea, with a wary smile. He was sorry for the girl. She had been through so much and had no idea what was in store for her. "Yes, you shall meet him. He works in my library. I'm sure that you will like him. You shall meet him soon. I believe."

"How soon is soon? I really would like to see human life other than you, no offense."

"Soon is how long it takes us to walk down this corridor. There is no offense taken, my dear child."

Ayra began singing an old song that she had heard once when she was a child. "Ry tantiala, tantitala, ry tantitalo, rhinnonandy, Ry tantitala, tantitala, ry tantitalo, rhinnonandy."

Ptolemy looked at her in surprise. How had the child learned such an ancient song! She also had a voice like her laugh. It tinkled like little bells and echoed throughout the corridor as if it were coming from the other end.

A familiar voice echoed through his head, "_Ptolemy… you must not raise suspicion. You must remain as you are. I cannot speak long. I have many a problem to solve. Keep Ayra busy. You must ask no questions and tell my daughter no lies. Do not tell her things that she need not know. Now, nod your head if you understand. Good. Be off now."_

Ayra was looking intently at Ptolemy. "Are you planning to stand there all day and nod your head at nothing, or are you going to open the door sometime today?"

Ptolemy looked down and realized that they were standing at the library door. The girl was looking up at him with an amused smile on her face.

"Off course! I am dreadfully sorry. I must have lost myself in my thoughts."

"My good sir, you are so flustered. May I help you?" She seemed as if she would be willing to help and learn, now that she had calmed down a bit. A smile played on the lips of the little girl. How dreadful it must be to know nothing!

"No, No. I will be quite alright. Alten will be wondering were I have been. Hopefully he has not been wandering off again." The last sentence was muttered under his breath.

The door was heavy and it looked heavy enough that quite a few people would be needed to open a door of that size. Ptolemy didn't even move a muscle. The door seemed to open of its own accord. It squeaked as it opened, but Ayra did not even give the slightest hint that Ptolemy had not opened the door physically, but instead, she looked eagerly into the extraordinary library.

"He isn't in there at the moment. You might not even like him. He is extremely stubborn and independent. He doesn't take kindly to taking orders unless they are from me. Just thought you would like to know that."

"Well, I thank you for any advice that you can provide me with. I appreciate it. Thank you, kind sir."

"We'll be needing to start your training soon. You have much to learn. We will begin tomorrow as soon as dawn breaks."

Ayra had already run out of sight and into the maze of shelves. She began pulling random books off the shelves and sat down in an oversized Chintz chair. Already absorbed in them, she did not notice the boy walking toward her. He was a handsome boy, tall, about 5'11'', and his hair was short and was a mixture of blond and brown. He wore glasses, which made him look highly intelligent.

"Ma'am, can I help you? You seem to be lost." He was anything but kind when he said the simple words. He sounded accusing and rude.

Ayra looked up and saw Alten. "No, I do not believe that I am lost. As you can see, if I were lost, I would probably be searching for a way out of the library. As a matter of fact, Ptolemy brought me to this exceptional library. So if you would kindly leave me be and let me read my books, I would be ever so grateful."

Alten looked down at the little girl sitting in the chair. "Who are you anyway?!" He sounded accusing as if he were a little child who had lost something.

"Ayra," she didn't have to look up to know that an astonished look was spreading across his face. She couldn't help feeling like he knew more about her than she did. Ayra kept her head down buried in her book.

"I'm sorry for treating you rudely, my Lady," he looked shaken and he was stuttering.

"Uh…where did this sudden 'my lady' thing come from? You know, first you wanted me gone; now you're acting like I'm royalty…"

"No reason my Lady! I'm so sorry! I must have mistaken you for one of the servants."

"There are other people here?! Ptolemy didn't tell me that! He said that you were the only other person here!"

"That's because I am the only other person here, my lady. The servants are...um…not human."


End file.
